I am looking for a new boat and have come across a 2012 Mastercraft X15 and a 2012 Malibu LSV at about the same price. What are the positives and negatives of each? It will be a family boat, we are not pro's but enjoy wakeboarding and wake surfing (not skiers). Thanks

mcLove

06-24-2013 10:17 AM

You would be better off in the mastercraft. We were at our local dealer talking about why mastercraft was better then malibu and natique. What they had to say was really cool and helped us decide that our next boat would for sure be mastercraft. Plus mastercraft are just all around better.:banana:

dpolen

06-24-2013 10:26 AM

I seriously looked at a 2012 LSV prior to purchasing my X2 this spring...Both are REALLY nice boats. From my perspective, I steered away from the 2012 Malibu's because they are going to take a big hit on depreciation real quick due to the 2013's having the Surfgate system...my local dealer has sold a ton of new malibu's just because of the new technology...everyone wants it. With that said, the discount that the Malibu dealer was offering me on the 2012 carryover was definitely greater than what I was able to do for my new MC. I'm a huge fan of my MC dealer as their service department has always taken exceptionally good care of me...really didn't want to stray!

Hope this helps.

As far as pro's and con's...that LSV has a ton of cockpit room, bow is smaller. Does it have the diamond hull?

The X15 is a great all-purpose boat! Can't go wrong with it!

Hope this helps a bit.

tommydbouy

06-26-2013 01:45 AM

We love our 09 X15. Any chance you can get a pull behind each of them? We demoed the X15 last year and that sold us on it. We were upgrading from an io so the difference was night and day.

MC25

06-26-2013 01:50 AM

Shoot me for being honest.... Malibu. my X15 had a horrid wakesurf wake and a marginal wake board wake. the x15 can do everything, just not very well. ive ridden behind a few 23 lsvs and they have awesome wake. the LSV will also be bigger. the VLX would be more apples to apples and id still take a VLX.

you cant go wrong with any top three boats. theyre all extremely well made boats! go with what you like when you drive it and ride behind one!

onewheat

06-26-2013 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aric'sX15
(Post 951079)

Shoot me for being honest.... Malibu. my X15 had a horrid wakesurf wake and a marginal wake board wake. the x15 can do everything, just not very well. ive ridden behind a few 23 lsvs and they have awesome wake. the LSV will also be bigger. the VLX would be more apples to apples and id still take a VLX.

you cant go wrong with any top three boats. theyre all extremely well made boats! go with what you like when you drive it and ride behind one!

You are comparing a 23ft boat LSV to a 21ft X15. Hands down LSV all the way. The wakeboard wake is bigger and cleaner, the surf wake is humongo, and the storage is rediculous. Not to mention their software for their touch screen runs much smother than MC's nightmare of a 2012 system.

There is not a lot of love for bu's here ,but their lines and interiors flow so smoothly you can't deny it. You feel like you're inside your living room when u sit in one. Especially in a 23lsv. While the 2012 may not have surfgate, there is still no question it makes a monstrous surfwave. You just miss on the easy side to side adjustment for goofy and regular riders.

Do you get a bit better build quality in an MC.... I think so, but not by much. Is a Malibu going to fall apart????? Heck no. It's a rock solid proven ride. I think people put MC up there because of all the billet, on the edge design lines, gadgets(auto pop up drivers consoles, power tower), and components( ie JL). Do those items make it that superior? To me in build quality no, but in overall shock and awe yes. That. Billet is dam sexy. Anyone who says Malibu isn't a top 3 boat is smoking crack.

not sure what set up you were running, but with port and kgb full, PnP 400 sac full in the locker, and a 900 on the seat the wake was washed out and soft. played with the surf tabs but it made it worse. stock ballast was un surfable. id take an lsv or vlx every day over a 15. the interior is better on the 15, but as a whole i would take the LSV.

brucemac

06-27-2013 03:12 AM

LSV!

like you sank it!

onewheat

06-27-2013 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aric'sX15
(Post 951517)

not sure what set up you were running, but with port and kgb full, PnP 400 sac full in the locker, and a 900 on the seat the wake was washed out and soft. played with the surf tabs but it made it worse. stock ballast was un surfable. id take an lsv or vlx every day over a 15. the interior is better on the 15, but as a whole i would take the LSV.

Our X-15 only ran stock ballast a full beer cooler (early in the day) and people - no PnP or tabs. Both sides were decent surf wakes - nothing like you see on sacked out 25's and 30's but pretty decent height and pocket - not really long, but good - especially with a board like an Inland Surfer. We might be expecting completely different things on a surf wake though. It was clean and very surfable though.